This Isn't My Forte
by ABoyWorthFightingFor
Summary: What if Kuroko Tetsuya and Mikaze Ai switched places for a few weeks? With the Winter Cup on it's way and STARISH's debut, will both teams fail horribly without their respective hosts? Or will Kuroko and Ai quickly learn their jobs and place?
1. The Switch

**[Disclaimer; I do not own Kuroko no Basket, Uta No Prince Sama, nor the cover picture. The idea was originated by myself, so please do not duplicate without crediting me.**

**With that aside, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy]**

* * *

**Ai's Side **

Mikaze Ai woke up one day. He looked around and couldn't figure out his surroundings. He decided to trust his instinct; he checked his data. "According to my data... I'm not supposed to be here... But where is 'here'?" the cyan haired teen wondered out loud. He noticed something blinking on a desk beside his futon. The cyan haired boy reached out to the object on the desk, somehow knowing the unlock code. He had a new text from an unknown sender and decided to read it.

_To: Kuroko Tetsuya  
From: Unknown_

Message: Hello, Mikaze, or should I say Kuroko? For the next few weeks, you will be known as Kuroko Tetsuya, attending Seirin High School. You are also on the basketball team. Don't worry about your place, that's already been taken care of. Good luck.

"That was weird.." Ai mumbled. The cyan haired teen wondered how he got here and who 'unknown' was. "I should assume this 'Kuroko Tetsuya' is taking my place... According to my data, I need to get to the school in approximately 2 hours, 32 seconds, and 46 seconds, counting down. I should research what I can before doing anything"

First, Ai looked in the mirror. He looked the same. He got dressed in what seems to be the school uniform. He was about done, he only needed to straighten out his clothes, when something rolled from off the shelf in the closet. Ai walked over to the object and picked it up. He examined it thoroughly, interested in what it was.

"A basketball." He deduced, as he placed it on the ground. "Well he is in the basketball club..." he mumbled to himself. After 1 hour and 23 minutes of researching about Kuroko and his school, he heard a knock on the door and he decided to answer it.

He opened the door and was blankly staring at someone's chest. He looked up and saw a very tall teen with two toned hair. The stranger at the door cocked an eye brow up at him.

"Oi, Kuroko, you changed your hair style" the giant observed.

"Is it weird?" Ai asked in his usual emotionless voice, feeling a bit of discomfort seeing he was not accustomed to talking to someone that was a complete stranger. During the time where he met the members of STARISH, he did research on each member so he would know at least the basics of them. Though, the cyan haired teen didn't know anything at all about the male in front of him.

"No, not at all..." The stranger dragged out, studying him for a second. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Ready for what?" Ai blinked as the stranger looked bewildered at him.

"Kuroko, don't tell me you forgot! Riko told us that we're doing early practice today because the winter cup is close" The stranger informed. Ai hummed a bit, recording the data he got.

"Just playing around" the cyan haired male said. "I'll be at the school in a bit, go on ahead" He ordered. The stranger looked at him in confusion, but did what he said, silently. Ai went to 'his' room and got the bag that was on the desk from before, willing to bet that it was his school bag. He decided to research about the Seirin Basketball team and the members so he could at least know their names and faces. Though, he would be lying if he said he wasn't thinking about how this 'Kuroko' was doing.

* * *

** Kuroko's Side **

Kuroko Tetsuya woke up in a room with two people, two people he's never seen before.

'Where am I...?' He wondered. He looked over at the bunk bed with two teens he doesn't know. 'And who are they?' He sat up and looked around, wondering where exactly was he. He saw something blinking beside a computer and decided to check it out. The light blue haired male stared in confusion at the phone he found on the desk. The clock said 3:24 am, so why was he up? He turned on the small desk lamp and hesitantly decided to go through the phone. He saw an unopened text by an unknown number and decided to open it.

_To: Mikaze Ai  
From: Unknown_

Message: Hello, Kuroko, or should I say Mikaze? For the next few weeks, you will be known as Mikaze Ai. You are senpai to Kurusu Syo and Natsuki Shinomiya. Don't worry about your place, that's already been taken care of. Good luck.

"This doesn't explain anything..." Kuroko muttered. He sighed and decided to get ready for the day, starting by combing the mess of hair he always had when he woke up. He looked into the mirror and to his surprise, he didn't have the terrible nest of hair like he usually did. He decided to run a comb through his hair and get dressed in the clothes that was in the dresser. Once he was done, he decided to go on the computer and find out more about who he was supposed to be. As soon as he started the computer, he saw a schedule, booked up for the entire day. He went through all of the days of this week, and like today's, they were all booked up. Tetsuya stared in confusion as he read today's complex schedule.

4:00 am - make and eat breakfast  
4:24 am - wash the dish that was used  
4:55 am - make sure Shinomiya and Syo are already up and working on schedule  
5:13 am - stay in room, doing work, until next block  
2:56 pm - start walking to Saotome's room  
3:05 pm - meet up with Saotome and the rest of Quartet Night.

It continued on like that til 11:38 pm. 'This is stricter than Riko's training course...' he thought, continuing to read the schedule. "Ah- I forgot today Riko was making us practice extra today- I hope that guy knows what's going on" he said softly to himself. He read the first part of the schedule again. Who was Kurusu Syo, Natsuki Shinomiya, Saotome, and Quartet Night? He decided to learn all he could before the schedule actually started.

It was now 3:50. He had learned that he was in a place for amateur idols and composers that wanted to further their career in the entertainment industry. He was supposed to be a senpai to two blond teens, both older than the original person, with the names of Kurusu Syo and Natsuki Shinomiya. Then he found out that he was in a band called Quartet Night, along with Kotobuki Reiji, Kurosaki Ranmaru, and Camus. The head of the entire directory is Shining Saotome, who was supposedly a famous idol who has now retired.

"Syo, Satsuki, Reiji, Ranmaru, Camus, Saotome..." He mumbled under his breath, trying to get familiar with the unknown names. He read somewhere that this Ai person calls everybody by their first names. He looked at the time and saw it was 3:50. He decided to learn more about his new roommates and get familiar with the faces. After 7 minutes, he was done and glanced over to the phone on the desk. He wondered if he could text his real phone to the person taking his place. He decided to try it out. He typed in his full number and sent a text.

_text sent;  
To: 1-800-123-4567  
From: Mikaze Ai  
Message: Hello, this is Kuroko Tetsuya. Good luck in practice Mikaze-kun._


	2. The First Day

**I have no idea what happened but I think I fixed it**

* * *

**; Ai's Side**

The cyan haired teen was walking to the school when he got a text from yet again an unknown number, however he recognized this number as his own.

To: Kuroko Tetsuya [1800-123-4567]  
From: 124-433-2355  
Message: Hello, this is Kuroko Tetsuya. Good luck in practice Mikaze-kun.

He didn't understand. One thing is for sure though; this 'Kuroko' is definitely taking his place. He decided to text back Kuroko.

Text Sent;  
To: 124-433-2355  
From: Kuroko Tetsuya  
Message: Thank you for the message, Tetsuya. Don't forget to make sure Syo and Shinomiya are up at 4:44.

He then started to continue to walk to the school named Seirin.

"Oi, Kuroko! You're late!" The stranger, whom Ai learned was named Kagami Taiga, stated once he spotted him.

"Sorry, Kagami-kun. I just needed to do something." He replied, walking into the gym some more. He noticed that his voice was the same and wondered how different Kuroko's voice was compared to his.

"What was so important that you had to ditch the first few minutes to practice, eh, Kuroko?" A female voice asked. Ai turned to face the voice and recognized her as Riko, the coach that gave deadly work outs.

"I got lost" He replied truthfully, getting blank stares from Kuroko's team mates.

"Go run 50 laps for lying" Riko commanded, a deadly aura emitting from her presence. Ai obeyed, but he knew he couldn't last more than 3 laps.

Once he clasped, indeed on the 3rd lap, Riko yelled at him to continue. Ai told her to wait a bit, after a series of light coughing and heavy breathing. Ai wasn't trained nor built to do this exercise. He had to wonder, 'Why am I doing this?' He dismissed the thought and continued, feeling his arms and legs stiffen up a bit, and his overdrive over heating. He gave up on his 5th lap, not being able to take it anymore.

"What's up with Kuroko?" Hyuuga asked, watching Kuroko panting hard; even though it was only his fifth lap. "He never had trouble with 5 laps before, let alone 3"

"Maybe he's having a bad day?" Izuki suggested.

"He did forget that there was early practice today..." Kagami recalled. "I wonder what's going on"

"Whatever the case is, Riko doesn't seem to like it" Kiyoshi observed, looking over at the fuming brunette that was currently tripling Kuroko's training menu. They watched as the boy they thought as Kuroko took a deep breath and began running again, the look on his face was clear;

He was purely exhausted and could pass out at any moment.

He couldn't run anymore than 9; which Kuroko's teammates found odd; but didn't question. Right when he finished the 9th lap, it was time for school to start. Ai sighed in defeat while getting his bag and navigating his way to the classroom on the block schedule he thankfully found; after getting yelled at by Riko. He decided to send Kuroko a timed text for 5 am his time.

To: Mikaze Ai  
From: Kuroko Tetsuya  
Message: Hello Tetsuya. I hope you have no problem finding Saotome's office. There will be other people in the room; Reiji, Ranmaru, and Camus. I hope you are able to recognize each one. The class is starting now so I have to go. Good luck.

* * *

**; Kuroko's Side**

Kuroko had no idea how to cook so he stared blankly at the kitchen's layout.

"How am I supposed to do this..." Kuroko wondered, regretting to not ask Kagami for cooking lessons before. He sighed and decided to just skip breakfast. Maybe he could buy something to eat later? He shook his head and was about to head out when he heard someone call 'his' name.

"Ai-Ai!" The stranger called. Kuroko turned around to address him and saw a tallish, childlike brunt approach him. Kuroko recognized him as Kotobuki Reiji, one of Ai's co-workers.  
"Are you done eating all ready? I wanted you to make me something," he pouted.

"Make it yourself" Kuroko replied, feeling bad about the harshness in his tone. He then realized that his voice was the same. He wondered how different it was compared to Ai's.

"Ehh? But you always agree to!" the latter exclaimed. Kuroko thought a bit and replied,

"I don't recall ever doing something for you." Kuroko currently had his index finger against his chin, head tilted a bit, as if he was trying to remember that particular scene. Then again, he had no memory what so ever about the brunt in front of him. Reiji pouted once again and proceeded to go to the fridge to pull out ingredients.

"You always did have a good memory..." He mumbled. "I thought it would work on you today" Kuroko walked out, stifling out a soft 'jeez' and headed to the room he awoke in earlier.

He looked at the time and saw that it was 4:50 am. He looked at the two sleeping blonds on the bunk bed and couldn't help but wonder why they had to wake up at precisely 4:55 am. Sure, they had to practice with... What was it, singing? But why did they have to practice so early?

"Riko never made us wake up this early..." Kuroko thought aloud. He looked at his watch and saw it was 4:55, the time he had to wake them up. He didn't know how Ai woke them up, though, and ending up just staring at them. Before he could speak, the one with glasses woke up, somewhat energetically.  
"Syo-chan, wake up before we get off schedule!" He had said, shaking the smaller blond. Kuroko watched as the seemingly shorter blond got up groggily and followed the taller one into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"That was strange... And a weird way to wake up" Kuroko observed silently. He shook his head and decided to work on the next thing on 'his' scheduled, though it wasn't nearly time for it yet. When he was about to, he felt a compulsion to stop working and do something else. Kuroko furrowed his eyebrows and right when he was about to click something, he got a text.

To: Mikaze Ai  
From: Kuroko Tetsuya  
Message: Hello Tetsuya. I hope you have no problem finding Saotome's office. There will be other people in the room; Reiji, Ranmaru, and Camus. I hope you are able to recognize each one. The class is starting now so I have to go. Good luck.

'I hope Mikaze-san is doing alright with Riko...' Kuroko wished. He decided to take a walk around the building after sending him a text back.

To: Kuroko Tetsuya  
From: Mikaze Ai  
Message: I also wish you luck, Mikaze-kun. I hope you don't have any trouble with Riko-san. If you have any practice games, you should notify me; granted I'm not busy with your work.

* * *

**If you're confused with a text messages, "To/From: Kuroko Tetsuya" is Ai and "To/From: Mikaze Ai" is Kuroko. Is you're confused, don't worry. I got confused while typing it. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!  
~xoxo Author**


	3. Breaking Schedule

**To: Kuroko Tetsuya  
From: Mikaze Ai  
Message: _I also wish you luck, Mikaze-kun. I hope you don't have any trouble with Riko-san. If you have any practice games, you should notify me; granted I'm not busy with your work._**

Ai looked thoughtfully at the text and closed the phone shut. School had just ended, and now he was back to basketball practice, much to his dismay. Before he could walk in, he received two text messages at once. He decided to look at the first one.

**To: Kuroko Tetsuya  
From: Akashi-kun  
Message: **_**Hello, Tetsuya. I do hope I'm not disrupting anything. I just wanted to inform you that Atsushi and I are in Tokyo again, and we all are meeting at the usual place and time. Don't be late.**_

'Who's Akashi..?' Ai questioned. He decided to ask the next time he contacts Kuroko. He opened the other one.  
'Well think of the devil' he thought.

**To: Kuroko Tetsuya  
From: Mikaze Ai  
Message:**_** Sorry about the extra text message, but I forgot to inform you that my specialty is passing, not actually shooting. Also, after about 10 minutes or before, you have to act exhausted, since that is my time limit.**_

Ai stared quizzically at the phone. 'Passing? What does he mean by-' His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something against his head.

"Hey, Kuroko, are you going to just stand at the door like a door man?" a black haired teen, analyzed to be Izuki, snickered while also writing the joke down.

"I was about to walk in, but I got a text message," Ai explained, quickly changing it to the one from 'Akashi' in case he wanted to read it. Correct, Izuki skillfully snatched the phone from his hand and read it.

"Ehh? From Akashi, huh? I hope it's not during practice, because Riko will kill you, especially since you didn't finish the laps from this morning," Izuki said. "Well, let's go in before she actually kills us." The two of them walked in at the same time, then barely dodging a stray basketball now hurling through the open door. Ai looked from the ball to the direction it came from, and tried to analyze where it came from.

**. . . Analyzing . . .**  
_**Complete**_

"It came from Furihata-kun," Ai muttered, staring in the boy's direction.

"How do you know?" Izuki asked, seemingly the only one that heard him.

"It came from his direction," Ai dead panned, now staring into Izuki's eyes. The two broke eye contact once the sound of a whistle resonated throughout the gym.

"Alright, enough gaping. We still have a long way to go if we want to win the Winter Cup," Riko commanded. The gym out burst into a series of 'Yes mam''s and 'Okay!'s. "We'll have a practice match; teams have already been chosen. Look at the board for more information. Meanwhile, Kuroko-kun," she said, looking towards the cyan haired teen. "Finish your laps from the morning." Ai nodded, and headed out, though sending a quick text to Kuroko in the process.

**To: Mikaze Ai  
From: Kuroko Tetsuya  
Message:**_** Thank you for the information, though I'm afraid I'm stuck with running laps the entire time. In any case, who is this 'Akashi-kun' and what time and place is the usual?**_

* * *

** Kuroko's Side **

**To: Mikaze Ai  
From: Kuroko Tetsuya  
Message:**_** Thank you for the information, though I'm afraid I'm stuck with running laps the entire time. In any case, who is this 'Akashi-kun' and what time and place is the usual?**_

'Oh he met Akashi-kun already?' Kuroko thought, going through the financial documents of QUARTET NIGHT. He picked up his phone and texted back.

**To: Kuroko Tetsuya  
From: Mikaze Ai  
Message: _Oh, you've met Akashi-kun? The place he's talking about is at Teikou, my middle school, near the sakura tree. The time is at 4:53. Akashi-kun doesn't like late people, so don't be late. Also, it wouldn't be wise to call him by his first name, so just stick with 'Akashi-kun'. There are also other people; Kise-kun, who would be the blond one, Aomine-kun, who would be the one with dark blue hair_, Midorima-kun, who has green hair, Murasakibara-kun, who has purple hair, Momoi-san might also be there, and she has pink hair, and finally Akashi-kun has red hair.**

"Oi, Ai," a voice called out from the bunk bed. "You've been on your phone a lot today," he speculated. Kuroko put down the phone, after sending it, and looked towards the stranger that addressed 'him'. He was a fairly short teen, height hidden by a navy fabricated hat, with blond hair and orange clips on his bangs. Kuroko recognized him as the subordinate 'Kurusu Syo'.

"Aren't you supposed to be practicing for the Uta Pri Awards?" Kuroko questioned, then going back to the computer.

"Today's a free day, didn't you know?" the stranger asked.

'Of course it is,' Kuroko thought, mentally sighing. "How was I supposed to know?" he questioned the latter.

"Well, You seem like you'd know everything, considering you always did," Syo argued. Kuroko just continued to type and look at the records.

"Can't know everything everyday," Kuroko said, ending the conversation there. "Besides, even if it's an off day, you could still be practicing," he rebutted, talking from experience. He was always lacking when it came to basketball, but he never gave up.

"You're talking a lot today," Syo said, getting off topic. "Are you alright?"

"What does my health have anything to do with this? According to my data, I'm fine." Kuroko seethed. Wait... 'According to my data'? Where did that come from? Kuroko furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation, but then saw the time. He stood up, and while he was walking towards the door, he heard Syo call out,

"Hey where are you going?" Kuroko turned around to face him.

"To a restaurant, maybe a cafe. Why, did you need something?" he asked. The latter looked away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"If that's all you're doing, maybe I can go with you?" Syo asked. Kuroko blinked, processing the new information. After a bit, he simply shrugged.

"Fine by me," he replied, though going back to retrieve the phone. As the two of them walked out of the dormitory, Kuroko managed to send Ai a message.

**To: Kuroko Tetsuya  
From: Mikaze Ai  
Message: _Good luck with Akashi-kun and the rest! If they try to kiss you, dodge them. Also, I might have caused a disturbance with your relationship with Kurusu-san. What do I do?_**

* * *

_**CRIES I AM ALIVE, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, I TRIED, I TRIED  
Kuroko x Syo, I'm crying  
Oh yeah, the meaning of the title is Kuroko was supposed to eat at 4 am, and Ai is supposed to be doing the practice match, but**_ _**he's running laps instead.**_


	4. A Date

**To: Kuroko Tetsuya**

**From: Mikaze Ai  
Massage: ****_Good luck with Akashi-kun and the rest! If they try to kiss you, dodge them. Also, I might have caused a disturbance with your relationship with Kurusu-san. What do I do?_**

'Kiss...? That's a bit... It seems I can't process this information...' Ai thought, breathing a bit off. He looked at the time. 4:50. 'I'm going to be late, aren't I...' he thought, leaning against the bench.

"Oi, Tetsu!" a foreign voice called out from the fence. "Why are you still here? We're supposed to be at Teikou by now!" Ai turned to face the source. He was faced with an overly tanned male with navy blue hair.

"Aomine-kun..." Ai said, recalling the text he had gotten earlier. He got up and walked towards him. "If we're supposed to be at Teikou by now, then why aren't you there yet?" he questioned. The stranger identified as 'Aomine Daiki' rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I fell asleep, and Satsuki didn't wake me up," he confessed. "What are you doing, though? I expected you, if not Midorima, to be the first one there."

"Riko-san made me run laps, and it seems I have lost track of time," Ai informed, feeling a bit lightheaded. He knew his overdrive was over heating, but he couldn't do anything about it right now. The only solution he could think of was resting, but even so, it would take hours to completely 'heal'.

"Get your things and hurry up. I'll carry you there," the latter offered. Ai's eyes held bewilderment and Aomine felt his cheeks burning in embarrassment. "You look pretty tired, and I don't want you to get in trouble," he explained. Ai only nodded and went to collect his things, which was only a bag. He left before he could get caught by anyone, though before he left, he quickly sent Kuroko a text on how to deal with the kouhai.

_**To:** Mikaze Ai  
**From:** Kuroko Tetsuya  
**Message: **__A disturbance between our relationship? As long as you don't make any physical contact with him, it should be fine, since there is a 'no love' rule in the building. It's a ridiculous rule, don't you agree? I'm afraid I'll be late to the meeting if I stay here, so I have to end it now. Send me a message if anything goes wrong immediately, even if I'm still with 'Akashi-kun'_

Ai sent the message and went out to Aomine. Once there, Aomine picked him up, piggy back style, and started running crazy fast. The breeze felt good against his overheating system. He could barely think straight when his overdrive was like that, which was rare. Before he knew it, the two of them were in front of a school. The taller one helped Ai get off of him, and then they made their way to the tree, arriving precisely at 4:52.

'Just on time,' Ai thought. He leaned against the tree, seeing as no one was against it. He watched as a red headed male, whom had a very intimidating aura, came into view. 'That must be Akashi' Ai mused, taking in his features.

'Akashi' had a slim, yet fitting body. His hair wasn't too long nor too short, and it complimented his figure well. If his aura wasn't enough to hold intimidation, his eyes definitely did: One was a fiery ruby red, while the other was golden as the sun. Ai could tell that the red head was the leader among the group, and no one dared to defy him.

"I assume you want to know why I have called you," he spoke, trailing off a bit. "We all know that the winter cup is coming, and I wanted to see if you all remembered our agreement. I presume you do, considering your expressions." Ai was confused. Nevertheless, he kept his usual, emotion-free face on while analyzing what he meant.

'What agreement is he talking about? Can he actually analyze what we're thinking by just our expressions? No... That's absurd. He must be looking into something else.' Before Ai could look deeper into it, he found blazing red and golden eyes inspecting his body.

"You're dismissed," he said, but then pointed at Ai, "except you, Tetsuya. I want to speak to you, privately." He emphasized 'privately', as if someone would eavesdrop on them. Clearly, someone would have, because the blond one, known as by 'Kise-kun' by Kuroko, shivered in fear.

Once everyone was gone, Akashi got dangerously close to Ai, tugging lightly on a piece of his hair.

"Who are you, and where is the actual Kuroko?" he accused, after great contemplating about Ai's own figure. Ai blinked, then softly pushing the latter's hand away from his head, then receiving a small glare from the red head.

"That's confidential, but-" Ai was then cut off when his phone buzzed from his pocket. He opened it, seeing the text was from the very person they were talking about.

**To: **Kuroko Tetsuya**  
From: **Mikaze Ai**  
Message: **_Mikaze-kun, I believe Kurusu-san is blushing. I don't understand why, though, since all the waitress asked was 'Are you two together?'. How do I calm him down?_

Akashi quickly swiped the phone right after Ai had finished reading it. After the red head was done reading it, he handed the phone back, and stared directly into Ai's eyes.

"You have a lot of explaining to do after you reply to him," Akashi said, tone scarring calm. Ai sighed, then responded on how to calm Syo down.

**To: **Mikaze Ai  
**From: **Kuroko Tetsuya  
**Message: **_Sorry about this being a bit late, 'Akashi' took the phone away for a bit. If you want to calm him down, just mention something about him being short. If that doesn't work, then try mentioning the 'no love' rule._

* * *

Mikaze Ai

**From:** Kuroko Tetsuya

**Message: **_Sorry about this being a bit late, 'Akashi' took the phone away for a bit. If you want to calm him down, just mention something about him being short. If that doesn't work, then try mentioning the 'no love' rule._

Kuroko closed the phone and stared at the still blushing blonde haired teen, although it was barely noticeable in the first place. He decided to discard Ai's words and do it his own way... well at least at first.

"Syo, you're a bit red. Are you feeling alright?" Kuroko had asked, after the two of them ordered food. He then felt the latter's forehead and said, "Well it doesn't feel like you have a fever.." The blond's face turned redder at the contact, and he immediately pushed his hand away.

"I'm fine!" He seethed. Kuroko cocked an eyebrow up, he moved his head a little at the blond's remark.

'Maybe I should do one of those things Ai said in the text.' Kuroko thought. He recalled the message from Ai from earlier and decided on the first option.

"You seem shorter than usual, Syo," Kuroko said.

"This again?!" Syo exclaimed, then got shushed once receiving a glare from the teal haired male in front of him.

'I didn't think he'd react like that_._' Kuroko observed. He took a sip of his milkshake, noting the flavor of it.

"My data says that you're 5'3, and from my speculation, you look around 5'1."

'Again with this data stuff?' Kuroko questioned himself

"Well sorry if my appearance doesn't match up with your data," Syo mumbled, taking a bite out of his food.

"Judging from your reaction, it would seem as if you don't want to be here," Kuroko assumed.

"Obviously if you keep noting my height, then I wouldn't want you around," Syo stated. He then added, "I didn't know you would comment on my height again when I asked to join you."

"You didn't have to come, though,'' he pointed out. Syo stuck his tongue out at him and crossed his arms.

"I was bored, and you seemed more distant than usual. You're never on your phone either," Syo stated.

"Maybe I want to change a little," Kuroko suggested. He then looked at his phone to see the time. "It's 2:50 right now… We should probably go back to the academy now." He swiped the milkshake from the table and headed out, following behind Syo. While walking, he hadn't even noticed a photographer in a bush nearby.

**x X x**

Kuroko successfully found Saotome's office. He stayed in the meeting, noting the important things like concert dates and how successful they were. After the important business was over, everyone was about to leave the room, except Saotome pulled Ai to the side. He waited a bit before showing his computer screen to him.

"What do you suppose this is?" Saotome pointed to a picture of a flustered Syo and a calm Kuroko in the cafe from earlier.

"I wanted to get food and Syo decided to follow me," Kuroko answered, unfazed by the image. All he could wonder is how someone could have taken the picture.

"Are you sure it's not a date?" the latter asked, voice rising with every word said.

"Affirmative. Just us eating. I can assure you that it is not a date," he promised. The red haired director sighed heavily in contemplation.

"Because of this picture, you are aware of the many questions you'll be asked, correct?" The addressed teen could only nod 'yes', not knowing what else to reply. It was apparent that Saotome didn't want him to speak regardless. He breathed in heavily, then calling up Syo to come to his office.

**x X x**

"We have to what?!" Syo exclaimed after hearing the plan. Apparently Saotome had a plan that the two of them would have to pretend that they were an actual couple. Kuroko knew that this was also punishment for their carelessness, though.

"Every time one of you go out in public, the other had to come with. It's simple. The press will buy it, sales will either go up or down, though the probability of it going down is very low. After a while, they will get bored of the story and leave you alone. Simple as that," Saotome explained.

"Why can't we just tell them that we aren't actually dating?" Syo whined, out of confusion; not of retaliation.

"Because the reaction for the leaked picture was very positive. If we tell them that it's a hoax, then the attention would drastically drop. Syo groaned, finally agreeing to the plan.

'I believe I need some more advice,' Kuroko thought, mentally sighing. The two were dismissed from the office, and once out, Syo broke the silence.

"It can't be too bad, right? It'll only be a few weeks or so," he said, trying to be optimistic. The latter nodded, but added something as well.

"Let's hope that it is only a few weeks," Kuroko found himself mumbling. The two of them trekked their way back to the dorm room, only to have to face a surprise waiting for them.

**Unsaved Draft:**

**_To: _**_Kuroko Tetsuya__  
__**From: **__Mikaze Ai__  
__**Message: **__I have found myself in quite the predicament this time. How would you handle a situation if you and Kurusu-san had to fake a date? It seems Akashi-kun has found out our facade. There's no use in lying to him either._

* * *

_**It's longer than usual.**__**  
**__**Upon rereading my story, I have realized that around 1,000 words isn't efficient enough to entail Ai's and Kuroko's advetures, thus I am giving you twice as many words. I hope you enjoy this series so far!**__**  
**__**~xoxo Author**_


	5. Compromise

_"Let's go back to Tetsuya's place," Ai suggested, "I don't think that I should talk about this in the open air like this."_

Ai was currently in a situation where his data would've never predicted. He was currently in Kuroko's house with an angered red head that has been calm toned that has been quite concerning to the cyan haired robot.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you and where is the real Tetsuya," the red head demanded. Ai tried coming up with a good answer, but his mind couldn't think. He assumed that the malfunction was because of his overdrive burning up.

"My name is Mikaze Ai from a group titled QUARTET NIGHT," he explained, his voice box messing up towards the middle. The stranger seemed to notice that and cocked an eyebrow to him. Ai motioned for him to wait a moment as he tried to fix it.

Problem: Unknown  
To to fix: Unknown  
Status: 624-52-67.3 and counting til shut down

"Well that's not good," Ai murmured to himself. Nevertheless, he continued on. "As for the where about for Tetsuya, he's somewhere in Japan, in my place, and quite possibly distrupting my relationship with my subordinate," he informed, voice box seemingly back to normal.

"How did this happen?" he asked. "And what did you mean when you said 'well that's not good'?"Ai confirmed that this 'Akashi' person asks too many questions. Mentioned teen slightly glared down at him as if knowing his exact thoughts.

"Neither of us know why or how this happened, it just did. As for the latter question, I'm afraid that information is unavailable." The answer seemed to anger 'Akashi', but before he could add anything, his phone beeped, notifying that he got a text message.

"Read it aloud," the red head commanded.

_**To: **__Kuroko Tetsuya__  
__**From: **__Mikaze Ai__  
__**Message: **__I have found myself in quite the predicament this time. How would you handle a situation if you and Kurusu-san had to fake a date? It seems Akashi-kun has found out our facade. I'm sure you've already told him the truth, but if you haven't, you shouldn't hide anything from him._

_**To**__: Mikaze Ai  
__**From**__: Kuroko Tetsuya  
__**Message**__: I've already informed him about our situation. For the problem with Syo, try to make it seem real, but unreal at the same time. Also, the minute he starts suspecting something, tell me. Your friend really isn't the patient type, though, so I have to cut it short this time. Good luck with Syo._

"Your story is very unbelievable," the latter replied. Ai nodded, not wanted to ruin his voice box even more. "What, have you run out of things to say?" Ai rose an eyebrow at that.

"I could go on and on about this current subject, however I really must fix my problem, so if you may excuse me, you must leave," Ai replied in a calm voice.

"Why should I? I believe I am able to assist you with anything that could be troubling to you," Akashi countered. Mikaze sighed and shook his head.

"It's too complicated and I don't believe I trust you near my-"  
Before he could say anything more, his voice box started to release pulses of static uncontrollably. He laid down and before he could shut down, he saw an uncharacteristic worried stare of an Akashi Seijuro.

* * *

x - X - x

* * *

Once the two arrived, they were immediately attacked by a red headed teen, Ittoki Otoya.

"Since when were you two dating?!" He yelled, more shocked than angry. Kuroko and Syo shared glances and Kuroko started to explain.

"We've never been dating. It was a misunderstanding by the media and a miscommunication," he said calmly. The red head was then lifted off them by an indigo haired teen, presumably Tokiya Ichinose.

"But the picture we saw-," a boy haired teen with mesmerizing eyes started, "It showed both you and Syo at a restaurant and Syos face was really red!"

"Yeah, as red as a newly budded roses. Did you put any moves on Ochibi-chan or something, Mikaze?" the blond, flirty one, Ren Jinguji, smirked.

"It wasn't like that!" Syo seethed. "The only reason why my face was red was because Ai was being stupid and oblivious to the obvious love looks the waitress was giving. Also, for the record, it wasn't a date, I just wanted food so I tagged along."

"Yes, and unfortunately Saotome decided it would be a good idea to go along with the press and rumors," Kuroko added. He didn't know how Ai would react, but he couldn't just stand there... Right?  
"Besides, even with this rumor going on, it shouldn't hinder our schedules, and this doesn't even apply to you, anyways. Go back to whatever you were doing, and if you really have nothing to do, pratice your song for the UtaPri awards again," he ordered, though his voice was as passive as ever.

The group, even Syo, blinked at the sudden outburst, but then recovered from the initial shock and left. Once they were gone, minus Syo, Kuroko sighed heavily and fell onto the bed, closing his eyes.

"...I've never seen you like this, Ai," Syo said after a few silent moments. "You're always so... Calm and collected. Is the media stuff getting to your head?" Kuroko opened an eye to Syo. He thought a moment before replying.

"Not really. I've just been passive passive instead of passive aggressive lately. Anyways, I thought I told you to go practice for the competition." In response, Syo retaliated by scoffing and sitting on the ground.

"Who do you think you are, my parent? Besides, I wanted to make this media message work in a way. They want us to be dating, right? Why don't we just date?"

Unsaved Draft:  
_**To**__: Kuroko Tetsuya  
__**From**__: Mikaze Ai  
__**Message**__: Mikaze-kun, what does it mean when Kurusu-san wants to actually date?  
__**Leave without saving**__?  
[√] yes [ ] no_

* * *

_**Its been a while and I'm sorry**_

_**I literally have no excuse I just**_


End file.
